In particular it explores the inextricable association many people make between "biking" (pronounced "bi-keen") and "hipsters:"

"In no way do bike lanes cause gentrification," he says. "But when you only put bike lanes in neighborhoods that have been or are being gentrified, then people feel like, 'OK, that's gonna happen to me now. White yuppies in spandex going up and down those lanes.'"This perception rests in part on the ubiquity of resentment of "hipsters," whom many blame for making New York less affordable. Sites like DIEHIPSTER.com generally indict cyclists as part of the influx that is ruining the culture of Brooklyn and the city as a whole. "Here comes offbeat Ursula; the 18 month Brooklyn veteran cruising down the street on her rusty Schwinn (just not in the bike lane she fought for) in her clay stained granny dress from her pottery making hobby job," read one recent posting.

It should go without saying that not all cyclists in New York City are clueless hipster transplants (plenty of those clueless hipster transplants ride vintage mopeds and not bikes), but even so that was pretty damn funny.

Of course, the article does address some important questions and offer some compelling insights, though the greatest irony is that something as potentially cheap and accessible as riding a bicycle should even be fraught with these sorts of questions in the first place:

But wherever it goes, the presence of a bike lane doesn't mean residents can use it. They also need bikes."You would expect cycling to be a cheap mode of transportation everybody should be able to afford," Buehler says. "So you should see pretty much everybody on the bike because it's the cheap, inexpensive thing to do."

Only in America do people think cycling is too expensive for poor people. Then again, this is the land of the $5,600 Budnitz city bike:

In fact, you may be amused to learn that the Budnitz people, either emboldened or enraged by my frequent mentions, have just furnished me with a Budnitz "Model No. 1" to test, of which I took delivery only this morning:

To my mind, the question is not whether a titanium Lynskey frame with high-end components rides nicely when you're cruising around town. Rather, the real question is how long you will get to keep that bike when the town in which you're riding it is New York City, where even your Bikesdirect.com fixie will wind up looking like this if you're not careful:

Granted, I don't intend to take any gratuitous risks with the Budnitz, though I do intend to treat it like the city bike it is supposed to be, and hopefully it remains in my possession for the duration of the testing period.

Speaking of luxury items, I recently received an email with the following subject line:

Like a Brooks Saddle- The Holdster

And the following text:

I'm writing to tip you off to a leather product we're launching on Kickstarter out of Burlington, VT: the Holdster Mason Jar Mug. The Holdster suggests a vintage lifestyle, and appeals to people's desire for a durable, urban and stylish aesthetic. We think it's a great product.
Which directed me to a Kickstarter campaign for this:

How is this like a Brooks saddle? Yes, I realize it's made out of leather, but so are a lot of things. A Brooks saddle is a useful component that lets you sit on a bicycle, whereas the Holdster is a superfluous leather jar bodice. Or, as the inventors put it:

The Holdster converts mason jars into sexy, leather-bound mugs. Your beverage has never looked so good.

I'm not sure why people who hate gentrification fear bike lanes when in reality it's people drinking out of leather-clad Mason jars that they should be dreading. There are two sure indicators that you can't afford to live in your own neighborhood anymore, and they are:

1) White people drinking out of jars;

and

2) Old-timey hanging store signs:

Obviously the second indicator doesn't apply to actual small towns where old-timey signs are just normal, but in New York City every one of these hanging signs might as well just say "You can't afford it." This suddenly dawned on me the other day when I was riding home from the city and I noticed that every single establishment between the East River and Prospect Park had a sign like this, and that "the new folksiness" had finally succeeded in rendering over half of Brooklyn completely unlivable for anybody not in the Budnitz bike demographic.

Anyway, the leather jar holder thingy seemed as silly to me as--well, as silly as drinking out of a jar, but apparently I'm in the minority, since they've already raised almost $23,000:

At that rate they'll have a store in Brooklyn with an old-timey hanging sign outside in a matter of months.

I can't help feeling like I've seen a similar article somewhere before. I also can't make any sense out of much of it:Identifying Gear: You can spot Roadies by their Lycra uniforms, which usually include tight black shorts and neon jerseys with pockets in the back. Other telling marks are clip-on shoes and serious expressions.

What the hell is a "clip-on shoe?" Is that like a clip-on tie? I do like how they work in the subtle product placement, though:

They ride sleek bicycles with curved handlebars called drop bars, like the Cannondale CAAD10 3 Ultegra ($2,450, cannondale.com ), which is made of aluminum instead of pricier carbon fiber. Roadies value the lightness because it lets them "feel" the road while providing a "supple" and "exciting" ride.

I should probably mention that on the ENY ride Saturday, I encountered a proud Trek Y-foil owner on the road. Wearing an aero helmet. He said something that I couldn't totally hear about Sarah Palin, maybe that he bought the bike from her, and that it was 'super light'.

Last night I went to a David Byrne BRA. It was about music and whether or not music is innate in us/we need it for survival blah blah blah. Byrne was asked "does thinking and knowing about this stuff affect the way you enjoy making music?" He responded by saying, "just because you know how a car works, doesn't mean you can't enjoy driving"

Bravo Snob! After bashing the very idea of the Bundnutz you didn’t let your journalistic/moral compass do a 180 just b/c the man offered you one to ride. You told ol’ Robo Man to take his Budnut and stick it taint d’sun don’t shine. That’s why I respect you so much.

The DieHipster blogger needs to chill out. I grew up listening to punk and hating on Zeppelin fans, but good gawd almighty I am glad I didn't spend that much time hating... I'd be in an institution or in jail right now.

I like the bitenutz bike. not really. $5600! are they insane letting you ride that thing around NYC? Are they expecting you to back up their claim that it's "the fastest, lightest most beautiful city bike in the world" so worth spending 20x more than you should spend on a city bike? I simply don't see a market for this thing, are they hoping rappers take up city bike commuting? I guess that is why they are basically giving them away. Enjoy it, i would take one for free also.

The author who discusses why cyclists are hated nailed it and then tried to bullshit his way out it. I ride, I drive: It seems I'm dodging ass hole bicyclists whether I'm driving my Elanta (a Hyundai) or riding my Townie (an Electra) and it seems like the culprits are almost always male teen twenty somethings on just about any bike or middle aged spandex clad neurotics stuggling to achieve the ever elusive "personal best." Even with that I don't hate cyclists, but can understand why non cycling motorists and pedestrians do.

I've talked about the bike division thing or whatever you want to call it with neighbors of mine in Brooklyn. The only thing I can figure out is this---people who work on their feet, with their body all day are generally kinda tired when they get out and would rather sit on the train. People who sit on their ass in an office (me) are happier to get out and roll. Ergo, the white/blue collar cycling debate.

Having said that, I know plenty of people in the Bronx and Staten Island who would love to ride but are afraid to because there's no cycling infrastructure.

WAHSINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters Point Carbon) - Imposing a $20 per metric ton carbon tax in the U.S. could reduce the country's budget deficit by 50 percent over the next 10 years, a report by the Congressional Research Service said on Tuesday.

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About Me

While I love cycling and embrace it in all its forms, I'm also extremely critical. So I present to you my venting for your amusement and betterment. No offense meant to the critiqued. Always keep riding!